I'm so excited to bring you some amazing guest posts over this week and into the next while I'm away. Today's post was written by Peter Pollock. I so appreciate Peter for his honesty, care, and encouragement. He's on a mission to rediscover the Church and I am blessed to count him as a friend. Enjoy this story and be reminded of your own Christmas miracles.
When my wife was younger, her family went through some very, very rough periods financially.The stories of God's miraculous provision to her family in those times are plentiful and amazing but, at this time of year, I can't help but remember the story of the Christmas tree.
The year was 1985, the month: December (of course)
Daddy sat the family down one day and told them all that Christmas would have to be a little different that year. Money was too tight and they simply didn't have any money to decorate for Christmas.
As in most families, Christmas was always an exciting time for the kids. They loved to get a tree and decorate it brightly with lights and ornaments, it was one of their favorite parts of Christmas. Jesus was the center of their household and the true meaning of Christmas was never forgotten but a big part of the excitement of the season was the wonderful smell and sight of that beautiful, fresh tree.
This year though, it was a choice between having food on their plates and having a tree in the corner. Although the kids would probably have chosen a tree over food, the wisdom of their parents overruled and so it was to be a tree-less Christmas.
It was a sad, but necessary choice, but Momma knew how to pray! So she and the rest of the family set about praying for a Christmas tree, believing that God could answer their prayers.
A few days later, Daddy was working out in the desert and happened to look down to see a $20 bill trapped in some tumbleweed. There it was, just sitting waiting as if it had been put there on purpose.
Daddy could have pocketed the money and spent it on food and bills but instead he gave it to the whole family to decide what to do with it. They talked about it and all decided that it was a gift from God in direct answer to their prayers for a tree.
That year they didn't have a Christmas tree in the house, instead they had FOUR trees. Instead of buying one big tree with the $20, they chose to honor God's gift to them by buying four smaller trees and displaying them around the house as a reminder of God's love and provision.
Some people don't believe that God bothers with answering prayers for little things like trees but I believe that God loves us like the Father he is and so he truly cares about the desires of our hearts. I'm sure it made him smile from ear to ear to see the excitement of that family at being able to have Christmas trees in the house that year - and they have never ceased to be thankful for God's provision.
God is truly awesome. Have you ever seen God provide in a small yet surprising way?
The year was 1985, the month: December (of course)
Daddy sat the family down one day and told them all that Christmas would have to be a little different that year. Money was too tight and they simply didn't have any money to decorate for Christmas.As in most families, Christmas was always an exciting time for the kids. They loved to get a tree and decorate it brightly with lights and ornaments, it was one of their favorite parts of Christmas. Jesus was the center of their household and the true meaning of Christmas was never forgotten but a big part of the excitement of the season was the wonderful smell and sight of that beautiful, fresh tree.
This year though, it was a choice between having food on their plates and having a tree in the corner. Although the kids would probably have chosen a tree over food, the wisdom of their parents overruled and so it was to be a tree-less Christmas.
It was a sad, but necessary choice, but Momma knew how to pray! So she and the rest of the family set about praying for a Christmas tree, believing that God could answer their prayers.
A few days later, Daddy was working out in the desert and happened to look down to see a $20 bill trapped in some tumbleweed. There it was, just sitting waiting as if it had been put there on purpose.
Daddy could have pocketed the money and spent it on food and bills but instead he gave it to the whole family to decide what to do with it. They talked about it and all decided that it was a gift from God in direct answer to their prayers for a tree.
That year they didn't have a Christmas tree in the house, instead they had FOUR trees. Instead of buying one big tree with the $20, they chose to honor God's gift to them by buying four smaller trees and displaying them around the house as a reminder of God's love and provision.
Some people don't believe that God bothers with answering prayers for little things like trees but I believe that God loves us like the Father he is and so he truly cares about the desires of our hearts. I'm sure it made him smile from ear to ear to see the excitement of that family at being able to have Christmas trees in the house that year - and they have never ceased to be thankful for God's provision.
God is truly awesome. Have you ever seen God provide in a small yet surprising way?
——
Website: PeterPollock.com
Twitter: @PeterPollock
Blog: http://blog.hafchurch.org/peter
Website: PeterPollock.com
Twitter: @PeterPollock
Blog: http://blog.hafchurch.org/peter
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